1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for watermarking media programs, and in particular to a system and method for remote watermarking of media programs.
2. Description of the Related Art
Media programs, which can include audio, video, or audiovisual works, can be transmitted and viewed by customers by a variety of means, including terrestrial or satellite broadcast, cable transmission, physical transmission of a recorded medium such as a digital versatile disk (DVD), flash drive, or hard drive.
Typically, such media programs are first released in theaters only. At some point, depending upon the media program and the characteristics of the theatrical release, the media program becomes no longer commercially viable as a theatrical release. At that point, it may then be made available as a secondary release as a DVD or on a pay-per-view (PPV) basis from a satellite or cable provider. Still later, typically after the market for the secondary release has been exhausted, the media program may enter general release. Upon general release, the media program may be presented in a general broadcast, so that customers can view them without paying additional fees. However, such media programs are typically unavailable as a secondary (non-theater) or general release until they have been under theatrical release only for a significant period of time.
One of the reasons for the tiered release of media programs is to maximize the revenue obtained from release of the media program. Those who are genuinely interested in viewing the media program will presumably do so during the theatrical release, while others who are less interested, or have less money or time, will generally view the media program during the secondary release. Those with even less interest or time may view the program upon its general release.
While the tiered release system increases revenue derived from the media program, such revenue can be further maximized by increasing viewership in the theatrical release, because the fee for viewing the media program is typically highest at this time. However, distribution is expensive and there are a limited number of theaters available for theatrical release. While it is possible to increase viewership in the theatrical release phase by providing the media program via remote transmission (for example, to the viewers' homes), the distributors of the media programs will not do so unless the copyrights to the media program are adequately protected.
At the same time, digital video recorders (DVRs) have become commonplace in many households. DVRs permit digital copies of media programs, including those provided on a PPV basis, to be made. DVRs may decode and display the video content or may transmit the content for decoding at a remote display device. Such copies do not degrade with subsequent copies, and are therefore of great concern to media program distributors, as they can be distributed in violation of the copyrights of the distributor.
Digital watermarking is a technique in which information can be added to media programs. Although the digital watermarks are invisible to the viewer of the media program, they can be processed to recover the information stored within, and this information can be used to confirm that the copy of the media program is unauthorized, identify where the copy came from, and when the copy was made. Such information can be used to identify and prosecute copyright infringers.
What is needed is a method and apparatus that allows protection of media programs displayed or stored at remote locations. Further, while the broadcaster or distributor can digitally watermark media programs before they are distributed, what is needed is a method and means for simply and inexpensively using customer equipment such as DVRs and integrated receiver/decoders (IRDs) or set-top boxes (STBs), to add watermark information that allows the identity of the DVR, IRD or STB that made an illegal copy and the date or time that the illegal copy was made to be determined. Further, this method and means must be compatible with the encryption schemes that are also used to protect the media program itself from copying while stored on the DVR and while transmitted to a remote display device. The present invention satisfies this need.